Key facts

Real-world engineering from day one

Start becoming an engineer from day one of your studies at Massey. You’ll learn the skills to make you a sought-after employee in New Zealand and internationally.

What is it like?

You are guaranteed your first choice of major

Whether you choose your major at the start or the end of your first year, there are no limits on the places available. There’s no chance of missing out - you can study what you’re passionate about!

Real-world problem solving

Every year you work on projects that can help both our communities and industry, giving you a real feel of what engineering involves, and the skills that distinguish you from the rest.

An internationally-recognised engineering programme

Your degree will be recognised internationally.

The BE(Hons) programme has accreditation by Engineering NZ as a professional engineering degree under the Washington Accord.

Modular learning

We teach and assess subjects in small blocks so that you know how you’re doing throughout a semester. There are modular tests but no final ‘big’ exams.

Wanted by employers

Our practical learning environment, combined with having more work experience than other New Zealand engineering qualification will see you develop the skills that employers are looking for.

Earning potential

The 2014 Remuneration Survey of the Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand (now Engineering NZ) reports new graduates start on a median salary of $52,000 and after five years are earning around $75,000. Those further into their careers earn much more.

Supportive learning environment

To help you transition to university patterns of independent study we provide you with a personal tutor. A Year Dean coordinates your entire first year experience. Also, you’re tutored in small-groups of up to 25 students, so you have easy access to our faculty experts.

Our distinctiveness

The project spine - engineering practice coming alive

Our ‘project spine’ allows you to develop the skills that real engineers rely on in practice. This allows you to work in teams to solve real-world problems and develop the skills that distinguish you from the rest. Our students lead others when it comes to problem solving.

Massey teams regularly win the New Zealand, and sometimes international, Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Challenge. The competition is fierce and proves that we produce engineers that think ‘outside the box’.

Earn more

A Ministry of Education report, undertaken over nine years, showed that those who complete a qualification in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics field of study have high relative earnings after they complete their study. Earnings can be substantially more than other graduates. Engineering and building-related fields have the largest earnings premiums over the national median of young graduates.

Flexible study

If you wish to change from the BE(Hons), you may be able to transition into a Bachelor of Information Sciences or Bachelor of Science. The first years of several of these programmes’ majors have many courses in common

“I was always interested in subjects that are key to engineering, but I hadn’t even written a line of code before I took up engineering at Massey. Only a few years later I was helping Emirates Team New Zealand take back the America’s Cup!…”

"After I finished my bachelor’s degree I decided to stay at Massey and complete a master’s. I worked on really interesting projects like developing a machine to move hospital beds, an automated pollen recognition system, and a robot helper for the elderly.

Once I’d graduated I started work at a company programming and automating machinery for factories. I was given pretty big jobs right from the get-go, and what I learnt at Massey really helped.

Then Team New Zealand found me through my LinkedIn profile. My company had seen the potential in a hardware platform, that just so happened to be the same one that Team New Zealand were thinking of using. I had put it on my LinkedIn profile and they reached out to me from there.

For 18 months my job was to analyse the boat on the water from a chase boat and later work with the team to make technical tweaks from a computational perspective to ensure the boat was performing at its peak.

It was really satisfying. You see a problem, you make a change and then you see whether it works or not straight away. It was a fast-paced environment, solving problems on your feet.

If you like solving problems, engineering is a great career!"

Careers

Engineering is a great career choice

Worldwide, engineering is recognised as a vital sector in the global economic recovery and more and more graduates are needed.

Career progression

You may find your early employment is often in technical development project work or research

However, within five years you may well have moved into management in technical, research and development, production, or quality assurance roles

You could then move to general management, or even choose to start your own businesses. Massey's BEng(Hons) assists the transition into the business side of engineering, with a focus on business skills as part of the degree

Or you could undertake postgraduate degrees after completing a BEng(Hons), then work in the research and development sector

Helping you land the job you want

Massey graduates are sought-after by employers for their ability to be valuable employees from Day One. Massey provides first-rate support to help you ‘hit the ground running’ - you’ll stand out from the rest. With the BE(Hons) you can work around the world.

Practical experience

We want our students have a competitive edge. During your degree you spend 900 hours (six months, minimum) working as engineers with companies. That’s more than any other programme in New Zealand. We want our students have a competitive edge.

Our staff help you find intern or summer work, and work with Massey’s Career and Employment Service to ensure you get the experience you need.